. >>> on the education alert, not just about students setting good grades and basically improving their test scores. teachers can't teach kids that aren't in the classroom. that's a no brainer. baltimore city, a new plan to fight against the chronic absences we hear so much about. sherrie johnson has the story. what is the school system doing? is it working? >> baltimore is setting an example when it comes to attendance. a johns hopkins 'b0ueáyestimate 5- 7.5 million kindergarten to 12th grade asstudents are absen they miss one day out of ten. in maryland it's 11%. one of six states that tracks the issue. low income students are likely to miss class because of transportation or health issues and sometimes because they have to work or take care of family. they use robocalls to alert parents about absences. social workers talk to families. williams missed 33 days and almost dropped out of 7th grade. in 8th missed five days and made better grades. >> i would stay home, play the game, eat, sleep, that's about it. watch tv. >> i saw him on the first day of school. one of the teacher whose k